The Great Gorilla
by Josh SB
Summary: The movies don't show everything. This story covers the events concerning M'Baku between and during the movies Black Panther and Infinity War, starting from after T'Challa leaves the mountains to reclaim his throne. This is not a long narrative about M'Baku's life. It only covers specific significant events that fit the story arc. Re-uploaded because half of chapter one was missing
1. Chapter 1

M'Baku sat still as a rock, his dark features betraying nothing of the turmoil running through his mind. His jaw flexed once then slid back into place, the only sign of his intense brain activity. He was alone in his throne room, as he often was when he needed to think. The simple space was completely silent apart from the howl of the mountain wind. Not even his trusted guards were present; he had sent them out for absolute privacy.

Night had fallen, cool and relaxing. Up in the mountains the cold bit hard, but M'Baku had been living there all his life and barely registered the chill. His thick fur cloak was soft against his skin, sealing the precious warmth within its comfortable folds.

Despite the simplicity of the problem he faced he could see no solution. He stood and began to pace up and down the long hall, deep in thought. Despite his bulk his movements were graceful and silent and he revelled for a moment in the accomplishment of skill, one that had been drilled into him since the day he'd turned ten, when his warrior training had begun, then his mind returned to the problem and his features withdrew once more into its brooding mask.

He had tried to dismiss the problem, to convince himself the Panther was wrong. Why should he help? What had Wakanda done for the Jabari, all these hundreds of years? Yet he knew there was truth in T'Challa's words.

He shuddered inwardly at the thought of the new king on Wakanda's throne. The new man, he'd been told, had beaten T'Challa in Ritual Combat, almost killed him. M'Baku himself had faced T'Challa before and even his strength had not been enough to beat the young king. A shiver went through him. With the power of the Black Panther coursing through the new king's veins he would be unstoppable.

He swore softly. The damned Panther was right. At least Wakanda had left the Jabari to their isolation all these generations. The new king was hungry for power. If T'Challa failed the new king might well decide he did not want a tribe of warriors nestled on his border and where would they be then? M'Baku imagined the hovercraft coming up from the plains, long vibranium spears hunting his people through the mountains. He shook his head. He could not _allow_ it. He muttered a curse as he made his decision. His people had never ventured beyond the mountains in the history of Wakanda. He raised his head and looked to the heavens, wondering what his ancestors would think of such a move. Then he growled. His ancestors were not here. _They_ did not have this problem.

Without turning towards the door he let out a loud _hough,_ the sound of the gorilla that was his people's call. His voice was powerful and echoed in the room.

His guards entered at once, alert as always.

"Bring the chieftains to me," M'Baku said. "The leaders and elders, too. I want every warrior ready to move out before the light shines over those plains."

The guard rapped the butt of his spear on the floor to acknowledge the order and left.

"Are we going, then?" another guard asked.

M'Baku nodded slowly. "Our people have been ignored for too long. Tomorrow we will show them who we are."

"Why should we help?" The Elder was indignant, as M'Baku had expected him to be. "Wakanda has done nothing for us. We owe them nothing."

"We do not do it for them," M'Baku replied, his voice level and measured. "This new king has no intention of peace. He hungers for war, and who do you think he will come for first?"

"It may not come to that," another Elder said.

"I will not wait for fate to run its course," M'Baku growled. "I will act while we still can."

"Our people have never left the mountains, all these generations." One of the Leaders, his appointed magistrates, spoke. "It is not our way?"

"What is our way?" M'Baku demanded. "Isolation?"

The assembled officials muttered assent.

"And what has that brought us? Our children struggle in the cold just to bring in a night's meal. Our people die before they can grow old, while down there they feast in the sunshine." He stabbed a finger in the direction of the plains. "Who among us remembers what it is like to be warm? To be full and content without worrying about the next meal? Jobi? Huzar?" He gestured to two of the most senior Elders. "I have had enough of seeing my people suffer. I wasted an opportunity when I lost to the Black Panther. I will not see another slip away."

Barza, one of his warrior chieftains, stood slowly. "The men are with you. We will follow where you lead."

M'Baku nodded sharply. "Then tell every man to sharpen his spear. We move out before dawn.

Without another word he strode from the room.

They left an hour before first light, the trecherous mountain descent made easy by their years of experience scaling the heights. By the time the morning fog burned away they were breasting through fields of wheat, moving quickly and without fear. A thrill went through M'Baku at the sight of rhino pens, the first sign of how close they were. The Gorilla had come down from the mountains. They would show Wakanda what they could do.

The tall ultra-modern building appeared on the horizon, standing out from the grassy landscape like a rhino horn. It marked the entrance to the vibranium mines and M'Baku felt a frission of excitement tinged with fear as he realised just how far they had come.

Then the sounds of battle reached their ears. M'Baku saw two aircraft fall out of the sky, heard explosions, then a loud cheer.

"Faster," he barked at his men. "The fighting has begun!"

The Jabari broke into a fast run, moving fast for men of their size. Raised in the thin mountain air and toughened by the harsh climate, they had trained through it all to build their bull-like strength. They were broad and muscled and there was no weakness among their ranks.

The clash of metal-on-metal grew in the distance, punctuated by screams and yells. A tremor went through the ground as the sound of some kind of energy burst reached their ears. M'Baku saw two warriors in long blue robes flung into the air by purple energy and laughed out loud. Those cattle-herder fools had tried to take on the Black Panther.

Then the sounds of battle died down. A shout rang out. "You have three seconds to lay down your weapons!" M'Baku guessed that the Panther's allies had been defeated and were being offered a chance.

Up ahead the ground rose to form a rocky knoll. M'Baku guessed that there was a slope dropping down the other side, which was where the fighting had begun. That would explain why he could not see the combatants despite being clearly being so close.

"Hough!" M'Baku judged the time for stealth was over. "Hough!"

"Hough! Hough! Hough!" The other Jabari took up the call until the air was filled with a cacophony that drowned all other sound.

M'Baku raced towards the knoll, muscular legs propelling him effortlessly up onto a rock the size of a bunk bed. Bounding to the top, he took in the scene.

Around fifty Border Tribe warriors had surrounded a few Royal Guards in a shield wall, but instead of fighting each other they had lowered their weapons and were glancing around confusedly. M'Baku reacted without hesitation, grabbing the nearest Border Tribe warrior by the top of his robe and lifting him into the air.

"Witness the might of the Jabari first hand!" he roared, throwing the unfortunate warrior to one side with a single arm. The warrior thumped into the ground like a sack of rice and lay still.

The Jabari surged out from behind the rocky outcrop. The closest cattle-herders were beaten to the ground by a rush of clubs. The shield wall dissolved in the chaos and the Royal Guards howled as they charged into battle.

M'Baku jumped down and was faced by two wide-eyed Border Tribe warriors who were at least a head shorter than he was. They lunged at him and he backhanded the first so hard that he staggered backwards, then smacked the other with his club. "Amviar!" he roared, glaring around as if daring others to approach. He marched doggedly across the short, dry grass, smashing all who stood against him with tireless strength.

Then the thunder of hooves reached his ears. M'Baku spun around to see a battle rhino coming straight for him. He gaped wide-eyed at the horned beast, then just as it was about to reach him a Royal Guard jumped in front of him. A futile gesture, since the rhino could smash two people as easily as one, but before M'Baku could consider this the rhino shuddered to a halt. Suddenly docile, it licked the side of the Royal Guard's face.

M'Baku blinked, astonished, then recovered his wits and sprinted away.

Then all of a sudden the battle was over and the cattle-herders were dropping their weapons and kneeling on the ground. M'Baku took no chances, kicking the closest Border Tribe warrior to the ground and backhanding another with his club, but the threat was over. Royal Guards and his Jabari stood over the blue-robed men. The Guards General caught his eye, nodded. "Thank you. For your help."

M'Baku gave a slight smile. "It was nothing. Give us a _real_ enemy and we will show you what we can do."

Border Tribe warriors glared up at the leader of the Jabari, but M'Baku ignored them, smiling at the cattle-herders' impotent fury while savouring his triumph.

A new chapter had begun in the history of his people. For the first time, all five tribes were united as one. Wakanda forever.


	2. Chapter 2

The hovercraft arrived completely unannounced.

Up until then it had been a normal day for the Jabari. Most of them were manhandling lights, heaters and other furniture into their cave-houses, vast spaces that their ancestors had carved into the mountains, or else they were fumbling with batteries and solar panels as technicians from the city patiently explained the installation process. Others struggled with boxes of fresh beef, sacks of flour, biscuits and rice. All the new wares were had come from the city, part of the arrangements that their leader M'Baku had negotiated with King T'Challa and his council.

The Merchant Tribe had provided all the furnishings, as a gesture of goodwill, they had said, to the newest addition to the Wakanda council, but everyone knew the real reason was because the wealthy tribe was afraid of M'Baku and hoped to buy their way into his good books.

The River Tribe, not wanting to be outdone, had hastily offered to transport the goods up to the mountains. Their finest hovercraft, their leader promised, that would ensure the journey took no longer than an hour in all.

But the biggest contribution had come from the Border Tribe. N'Sorbi, the new leader who had replaced the traitor W'Kabi, had pledged a whole year's worth of meat and crops, whatever the Jabari required, delivered to the foot of the mountains every day.

"It will be more food than you have ever dreamed of," N'Sorbi had said, and even King T'Challa had winced at the tactless remark. M'Baku, highly amused by the proceedings, fought not to roll his eyes as he expressed effusive thanks.

A dozen Jabari warriors had been playing a game on a small patch of level ground about halfway up the mountains. The game vaguely resembled rugby, except that there were no teams and instead of a ball they were fighting for a short club, and whoever managed to get the club immediately used it to fend off the other players, but against so many any defence was futile and it would only be moments before the player was manhandled to the ground and the club ripped from his grasp, whereupon the crowd of men would turn on their new target like piranhas smelling blood.

Then the hovercraft rose from below and the game paused as all the warriors forgot the club to stare at the flat, barge-like vehicle. There were three Royal Guards on it, and one of them asked where they might find M'Baku.

"Up," a warrior replied, pointing a finger towards the heavens. "He's supervising the goods."

Okoye nodded thanks at the bare-chested men, then ordered her soldiers to resume the hovercraft's ascent.

As promised, they found M'Baku pacing along a rocky mountain path, giving directions to an endless train of hovercraft laden with goods. The big leader turned as the hovercraft's engines buffeted him with wind, looking surprised as Okoye leaped from the craft onto the rocks.

"What's this?"

"The King has ordered every warrior to assemble east of the city."

M'Baku blinked. "Why? What's happened?"

"An enemy masses on the border." Okoye's voice was low. "We must move quickly. Understand that the fate of Wakanda is at stake here."

M'Baku could not comprehend how this previously-serene day had changed so suddenly, but he understood the need for urgency and spun around. "Jabari!"

"Hough!" The nearest tribesmen stopped what they were doing.

"Assemble everyone ready to fight." All the Jabari were trained for warfare to some degree. "We move out in ten minutes!"

Behind him the mountain fog parted to reveal a dozen more hovercraft. Transport, he supposed, for his troops. He spotted one of his bodyguards amidst the chaos of hurrying tribesmen and caught his eye. "Fetch me my weapons!" M'Baku bellowed.

The bodyguard saluted and disappeared into the throng.

M'Baku turned back to Okoye. The General of the Royal Guards had been frowning at the chaotic mass and bent her features into neutrality as she saw him start to turn.

"Your people are…quick to respond."

"Who is the enemy?" M'Baku ignored the look.

This time Okoye seemed unsure. "A ruthless destroyer from space. He massacres half the population of every planet he conquers."

"Does he have a name?" M'Baku was unfazed by the horrific description.

Okoye nodded. "I believe he calls himself…Thanos."

"Jatha!" M'Baku thrust his club into the air as he shouted.

"Hough! Hough!" The Jabari responded as one.

"Jatha!"

"Hough! Hough!" Their battle cry echoed across the grassy plain like a gunshot.

"Jatha!"

"Hough! Hough!"

"Jatha!"

"Hough! Hough!"

A dark shape came into M'Baku's peripheral vision. He turned and saw that it was King T'Challa, clad in the ultra form-fitting bodysuit of the Black Panther. The two warriors clasped arms.

"Thank you for standing with us." T'Challa said.

"Of course, brother." M'Baku replied in their native tongue.

The big leader felt a surge of pride as he surveyed his surroundings. On the right were his Jabari, hundreds of them, almost every one save the old and the children. They lined shoulder-to-shoulder with the other tribes and there was no weakness in their ranks. They were one army, one people.

More troops were deploying on either side of the Jabari. The blue-robed Border Tribe formed the front lines, a wall of dark men festooned with the deadly vibranium weapons. They were Wakanda's first line of defence and they were all trained to fight. Behind them were a line of _Dora Milaje,_ the Royal Guards. All women, but they were experts in combat, even better than the Border Tribe, and held a fearsome reputation unmatched by anyone in Wakanda except pehaps the King. They had all been handpicked and their bald features were hard and grim as they stared fixedly ahead of them.

Behind the lines the air was thick with hovercraft bringing yet more warriors to the battle. The line extended on either side as the new arrivals added to the ranks, more and more of them, putting the Jabari at the very centre of the line, where the fighting would be the fiercest. M'Baku shivered minutely at the realisation. Fighting men brought him no fear; he had trained all his life, but there was something unnerving about the threat of Thanos's extraterrestial army that sent a sliver of fear into his heart where he thought he had long extinguished that feeling. He sent a prayer to the gods and felt it give him peace.

Dragonfly-shaped Wakandan aircraft hovered above the assembled troops. On the edges of the line, Border Tribe warriors mounted on Battle Rhinoceros trotted across the short grass. They were the flank guard, in charge of preventing the enemy from curling round the edges of the lines. The distance between the two cavalry forces grew as the line widened ever further.

The army was several thousand strong now, yet M'Baku knew this was only a fraction of Wakanda's strength. Most of the Border Tribe warriors were along the outskirts of Wakanda and more hovercraft were arriving every second as troops poured in from every part of the country.

Heavy steps shook the ground. M'Baku turned around to see a three-metre-tall red and gold metal machine approach with yet another contingent of troops. The machine was shaped like a man, with bulky arms and legs, but its head was disproportionate, much smaller than would be expected from such a massive body.

Walking beside it were five others. One was a metallic grey, mechanical man bristling with weapons. It had similar features to the red-gold machine and M'Baku guessed they had been designed by the same person.

The second was a browned man with sunglasses and some sort of breastplate. M'Baku's eyes lingered on the twin pistols strapped to the man's sides for a moment, the only articles on this man that indicated he was not as unimpressive as he looked.

The remaining three were two men and a woman clad in ultra-form-fitting black bodysuits similar to the King's own. They were white people, he realised, something M'Baku had only heard of from the history books. One man was taller than the other, almost as tall as M'Baku, but while muscular, was nowhere near the Jabari leader's bulk. The second, shorter man had long hair that fell below his jaw and carried a machine gun. All three were clearly warriors; M'Baku could spot them a mile away. The King had a knack of making strange friends, he mused inwardly.

The army waited patiently while the King, accompanied by the taller white man and woman, went ahead to meet the enemy commander at the border. Some men were praying. Others were checking their weapons over and over. M'Baku cast his glance over the Jabari and smiled as he saw they were completely still. The Gorilla felt no nervousness, only the fierce anger that carried it to victory.

"They call that the 'Hulkbuster'." Okoye, by his side, jerked a thumb at the red-gold machine, smiling wryly. "It was originally built to fight a creature called the Hulk. Both are quite formidable, or so I hear."

M'Baku briefly wondered what a Hulk was, but before he could ponder the thought King T'Challa and the two whites came running back.

"Did they surrender?" the shorter white man asked.

"Not exactly." the taller one replied.

Outside the barrier, the enemy army burst out of the treeline, a tidal wave of hunched, spidery-limbed creatures that bore no resemblance to any animal M'Baku had ever seen or heard of. The sprinting mass hit the barrier at full speed, clawing and snarling, but could not break through. A mass of black bodies began to pile up as the creatures scrambled over each other to strike ineffectively against the flickering blue dome.

 _"Yibambe!"_ T'Challa shouted. _Hold fast!_

"Yibambe!" The army's roar filled the air and M'Baku's chest swelled.

 _"Yibambe!"_

"Yibambe!" The Jabari pounded the ground with the butts of their spears.

 _"Yibambe!"_

"Yibambe!" The butt of M'Baku's spear sank half a metre into the ground. _Let them come,_ he thought. Let them face the Gorilla's strength.

A few monsters got halfway through before the barrier's energy decapitated them. Others broke through intact, only to be cut down by Wakandan fire. The grey machine and man with sunglasses launched into the air to strafe the enemy. M'Baku was surprised to see wings sprouting from Sunglasses's breastplate. The outsiders were strange people indeed.

More monsters were running along the barrier's perimeter, threatening to outflank their postion. T'Challa made his decision quickly.

"On my signal, open the barrier."

M'Baku gaped at the command. "This will be the end of Wakanda."

"Then it will be the noblest ending in history." Okoye said defiantly.

"Foolah!" T'Challa shouted. _Make ready!_

All along the line the soldiers raised their weapons. The Border Tribe disengaged their shields. M'Baku felt the anger of battle come upon him and growled as he gripped his spear.

King T'Challa stepped out of the front rank and crossed his arms over his chest. "Wakanda forever!"

A massive cheer went up from the assembled troops as they charged. Up ahead a small section of the barrier opened, just enough to let in five abreast. The monster army poured through the breach.

The ground between the two armies shrunk rapidly. King T'Challa was a full five metres ahead of everyone else. M'Baku was surprised to see the tall white man keeping pace with the King.

The two sides clashed in an eruption of blood and noise. Claws eviscerated men with single strokes. The vibranium weapons chopped down and came back black and foul.

The battle lines broke in the charge and the fighting was wild and frenzied. The Wakandans fought the snarling enemy in constant fear of their surroundings. Friend and foe were everywhere and there was always the possibility of being attacked from behind.

The Jabari fought in small groups that could defend themselves while maintaining their ground. For every man fighting in front there was another watching the sides or rear. The attack came from all sides and only the formation saved them from being overrun.

Interspersed among their brown armour were the more conspicuous uniforms of a few Border Tribe warriors and Royal Guards that had somehow found themselves with the Jabari amidst the chaos of the battle. The three groups fought shoulder-to-shoulder and the monsters piled at their feet as they held their ground.

M'Baku fought in the front rank, as bloodied and ferocious as any of the soldiers. He knew nothing about the progress of the battle, only that there were enemies in front of him and he had a weapon in his hand. He broke his club on a creature's head and stabbed another with his spear, then moments later stumbled backwards with empty hands as a third monster snapped the shaft with a swipe from its clawed arm. M'Baku bared his teeth and booted the creature backwards as it tried to jump on him. He drew another club from a holster on his back as the creature scrambled to its feet. The creature charged and he smacked it aside. Three Jabari bodyguards thrust spears into it as it tried to rise.

"Jatha!" he roared.

"Hough! Hough!" The answering shout was reassuringly loud.

"Jatha!"

"Hough! Hough!" All around him his Jabari were stepping over the prone carcasses of the enemy. He felt a surge of pride at the sight of his panting warriors.

The ground was littered with casualties from both sides, yet there seemed no end to the enemy hordes. For every creature M'Baku struck down two more took its place. He pushed his doubt aside as he struck down yet another creature. The Gorilla knew only strength and victory.

His optimism lasted only a moment. A new surge of monsters filled his vision and he took a few involuntary steps back as he realised how many there were. The Jabari spitted the first of them on levelled spears, then the black, scrabbling creatures seemed to swarm over his warriors.

"We are all going to die," he muttered, even as he ran forward to support his men.

Then a column of light struck the centre of the enemy mass in front of the gap in the barrier where they were coming through. Monsters were thrown into the air like rag dolls. M'Baku thought he glimpsed a shining weapon flying out of the explosion, curving in an arc as it cut down monsters. He gasped and shielded his eyes.

The blinding light faded to reveal two figures standing in the middle of the smoking crater, a tall man crackling with lightning and carrying a shining axe and a skinny humanoid creature that bore an uncanny resemblance to a young tree.

"BRING ME THANOS!" The tall man's shout filled the momentary silence in the wake of the giant blast. M'Baku watched as he took a massive flying leap and landed just in front of the gap, bringing down his axe amidst a seething, gnashing crowd of monsters. A second blast of light erupted, throwing charred creatures in all directions. The Wakandan army cheered as the enemy turned and fled.

"Forward!" M'Baku thrust his club into the air. "Attack!"

The Jabari charged with all the fury of men who had been on the brink of defeat. Spears took monsters in the back as they tried to flee. Iron-shod sandals trampled the flailing creatures underfoot as the warriors stormed on.

The gap was nowhere near big enough to allow all the creatures to escape and the enemy was piling up against the barrier, decimating themselves by shoving each other against its abrasive surface in an attempt to escape. The Jabari hit the enemy rear at full speed. All along the line spears, swords and clubs struck in a frenzy until the shouting warriors were forced to a halt by the sheer number of corpses in front of them.

Beyond the barrier the enemy was in full flight. The lightning man slaughtered all before him with his axe. The barrier was disengaged as the last of the creatures fell and the Jabari stalked through, intent on pursuing the beaten foe. Border Tribe warriors and Royal Guards marched with them and the air was filled with their war chant.

Deafening explosions shook the ground as the lightning man attacked the enemy transports. The massive aircraft disintegrated in midair, sending a deadly rain of shrapnel, most of which crashed onto the remnant of the unfortunate creatures. The Jabari charged down a few more stragglers, then M'Baku, breathing heavily, called a halt.

"We have victory," Barza, one of his warrior chieftains, said in amazement.

M'Baku understood. No one had honestly expected to survive, let alone win, against such overwhelming odds. Only a warrior's pride had made them stand on the plain only less than an hour ago.

"Make way!" someone shouted from the rear.

The Jabari turned to see a line of Border Tribe warriors rushing towards them, their blue robes conspicuous against the foul, bloodspattered armour of the Jabari. These were fresh troops that had arrived too late to take part in the battle, and M'Baku guessed that King T'Challa had ordered them to hunt down the beaten enemy. M'Baku chuckled wearily. Let the cattle herders do what they did best. He and his men had earned their rest. He clapped a hand on Barza's shoulder.

"We won, Barza." he agreed. "We won."

It was then that everything went wrong.

Barza, his mouth stretched wide in an open smile, froze. M'Baku frowned, thinking the chieftain had accidentally jolted one of his injuries, then his concern turned to horror as the burly warrior abruptly dissolved into brown dust.

"M-my lord." One of his bodyguards a few feet away collapsed to his knees, staring helplessly up at his leader. "I…" Then he too crumbled to dust.

M'Baku's straightened and turned to call for help, but the cry died in his throat as his eyes swept over his surroundings. All across the battlefield warriors were dissolving like chaff in the wind. Royal Guards, Border Tribe warriors and Jabari alike looked bewildered as they vanished. The survivors cried out in terror, gaping at the piles of dust that had been their comrades.

"What…" M'Baku felt at a complete loss for words. "What the…"

 _To be continued._


End file.
